Family and friends gathered for a White Coat Ceremony on Friday, Aug. 16, at the Performing Arts Complex in Edinburg to watch 100 new PA students receive their white coats, symbolizing the start of their careers. This event also commemorated UTRGV's Department of Physician Assistant Studies 25th anniversary.

The Department of Physician Assistant Studies is located in Edinburg, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. We are located approximately 4 hours south of San Antonio. The campus is located just 20 minutes from the Texas-Mexican border. The local population is primarily Hispanic. The Department of Physician Assistant Studies serves primarily the four counties of the Rio Grande Valley: Starr, Hidalgo, Willacy, and Cameron. Both Hidalgo and Cameron counties are urban/metropolitan counties with large rural areas while Starr and Willacy counties are almost exclusively rural. All Rio Grande Valley counties are classified as medically underserved areas (MUAs). The Rio Grande Valley experiences a unique population dynamic in that it shares its culture and livelihood with the much larger metropolitan border cities of Mexico, specifically Reynosa and Matamoros, both in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.

Accreditation remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards. The approximate date for the next validation review of the program by the ARC-PA will be September 2023. The review date is contingent upon continued compliance with the Accreditation Standards and ARC-PA policy.

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Alumnus of the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley PA Program Nationally recognized.

Johns Creek, GA, March 21, 2017 – Juliana Abreu, PA-C, a certified physician assistant who graduated in 2012 from the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley PA Program, was recently awarded a specialty credential called a Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).

UTRGV Master of Physician Assistant Studies program gets expansion approval - OCT. 11, 2016 – The UTRGV Department of Physician Assistant Studies, in the College of Health Affairs, has received approval from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education to enlarge its physician assistant master’s program over the next three years.

UTRGV Physician Assistant students urged to pay it forward, during White Coat CeremonyAUG. 19, 2016 – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s 52 new Physician Assistant Studies students were selected from among hundreds of top candidates, and on Friday, university officials challenged them to use what they learn to serve their communities.